Telephone coin collector



Feb. 3, 1942. o. A. SHANN TELEPHONE COIN COLLECTOR Filed Oct. 31, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVEN TOR O. A. SHANN aha-M,

AT TORNEV' Feb. 3, 1%42. Q SHANN 2,271,718

TELEPHONE COIN COLLECTOR Filed Oct. 31, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNl/ENTOR 0. A. SHANN A T TORNE) Patented Feb. 3, 1942 TELEPHONE COIN COLLECTOR.

Oscar A. Shann, Bayside, N. Y., assignor to Bell Telephone Laboratories,

Incorporated, New

York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 31, 1939, Serial No. 302,098

3 Claims.

This invention relates to telephone coin collectors and has for an object the provision of a collector in which certain deposited coins will be held in suspense for subsequent collection or refund while other coins will be collected immediately upon, deposit.

Telephone coin collectors as now used commercially are, in general, of two main types. In the prepay type, the deposit of a coin is required before the operator can be signaled orbefore a number can be dialed; and in this case the deposited money is collected or refunded, dependent upon whether or not the desired connection is established. In the postpay type, no money 'deposit is required until the desired connection is available or established, whereupon the deposit of a coin is required, which coin is immediately collected without any provision for refund.

The collector of this invention is adapted to be used as a collector of the prepay type for local calls and as a collector of the postpay type for toll or long distance calls. Forthis purpose the coin hopper for receiving deposited coins is provided with two channels, one a by-pass channel leading directly to the cash box and the other leading to a coin trap where a coin may be temporarily held in suspense for subsequent collection or refund, depending upon conditions occurring after coin deposit. Near the entrances to the two coin channels is a pivoted vane normally occupying aposition directing a first deposited, coin into the channel containing the coin trap, but responsive to the deposit of the first coin for directing a subsequently deposited coin or coins into the by-pass channel leading directly to the cash box.

One manner in which this may be accomplished is to pivot the vane alon such an axis that it is biased to a position closin the entrance to the coin trap channel but is normally supported in a position closing the entrance to the by-pass channel by means of a coin trigger projecting into the hopper and engaging the vane. The first deposited coin strike the coin trigger and enters the channel containing the coin trap but the resulting actuation of the coin trigger permits the vane under its biasing means to advance to its other position whereby any subsequently deposited coins are directed into the by-pass channel. This coin trigger for supporting the vane may also serve the same functions as the coin trigger disclosed in the O. F. Forsberg United States Patent No. 1,043,219 for establishing a circuit through the windings of the associated coin relay. The application of collect or refund current to the associated electromagnet for disposing of the coin on the coin trap will serve to release the coin trigger from its biasing spring and the trigger in movin to normal position will lift the vane back to normal where it closes the by-pass channel.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a general view of a telephone coin collector adapted to contain a coin hopper in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a circuit diagram of the electrical connections of the apparatus associated with such a collector;

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of the coin hopper of this invention;

Fig. 4 is a side view, partly in section, Of the coin hopper of Fig. 3 associated with a coin relay;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the upper portion of the coin hopper with certain parts in their coin actuated positions; and

Fig. 6 illustrates the manner in which certain electrical spring contacts are controlled by the apparatus of Fig. 4.

Fig. 1 is a side View of a telephone coin collector of the general type disclosed in the O. F. Forsberg United States Patent No. 1,043,219, issued November 5; 1912, to which reference may be had for a detailed description of its manner of operation. The collector of the present invention may be assumed to be essentially the same as that disclosed by Forsberg except for the substitution of a new type of coin hopper for the hopper disclosed in-the patent.

A nickel, dime or quarter deposited in the coin gauge l0 enters the proper channel of the multiple coin chute II located in the upper housing I2, which chute guides the deposited coin along a path to cause the coin to strike a signaling element, such as a gong or bell, after which the deposited coin drops into the mouth of a coinhopper I4 of the type shown in detail in Figs. 3 to 5, inclusive.

As will be noted in Fig. 4, the coin hopper has an initial coin channel [5 and a toll channel l6 with their entrances so arranged that a first deposited coin upon enterin the hopper strikes a coin trigger I1 and falls vertically into channel I5 to come to rest upon a pivoted coin trap l8. The coin trigger l1 serves, in a well-known manner, to open the sprin contacts [9, l 9 which normally short-circuit the pulsing contacts of the calling dial 2!! and at the same time serves to close the spring contacts 2|, 2| to establish a circuit through the windings of the polarized relay 22 whereby equipment at the central oifice is prepared to connect the calling subscriber to the subscriber dialed by the patron; and switches at the central office may subsequently be operated to supply collect current or refund current to relay 22 depending upon whether or not the desired connection is obtained. The application of collect current causes the relay armature 23 to move its arm 24 in the proper direction to cause vane 25 to release coin trap I8 and direct the deposited coin into the collect chute 26; while if refund current is applied, vane 25 is moved in the opposite direction to direct the coin on the trap into refund chute 21. In either event the subsequent deenergization of coin relay 22 serves to close contacts |9, |9', open contacts 2|, 2|, and to restore coin trigger I! to normal position.

The control of the spring contacts by the coin trigger is secured by a pivoted lever 28 which has an extension 29 normally resting on top of shoulder 3|] of the coin trigger IT. A downwardly projecting arm 3| of lever 28 is interposed between studs on spring contacts 2| and 2| with spring contact 2| biased to a position closing spring contacts 2|, 2| but prevented from so doing as long as lever extension 29 rests on trigger shoulder 39. It may also be noted that spring contact 2| carries a stud 32 which passes through apertures in spring contact 2| and |9 and terminates adjacent spring contact I9. As soon as lever extension 29 is released from shoulder 39 the movement of spring contact 2| to the right, as viewed in Fig. 6, serves to bring stud 32 into engagement with spring contact I9 to separate spring contacts l9, l9 whereby the spring contacts 9, l9 will remain open until spring contact 2| is moved to the left by the raising of lever extension 29. It thus follows that a first deposited coin falling into the coin hopper actuates the coin trigger H to its advanced' position of Fig. where shoulder 30 no longer serves to support extension 29, whereupon extension 29 acting under the pressure exerted by spring contact 2! drops to the left of shoulder 3|] as seen in Fig. 5; and spring contact 2| in moving to the right, as shown in Fig. 6, serves to close spring contacts 2|, 2| and open spring contacts |9, |9. When the armature 23 is actuated by the application of collect current or refund current to the relay windings the armature extension 33 serves to deflect lever arm 3| to the left, as seen in Fig. 6, an amount suflicient to raise arm 29 above the path of shoulder 39, thereby allowing counterweight 34 to restore the coin trigger H to normal.

It will be noted from Figs, 3 to 5 that the upper portion of the coin hopper has a vane 35, suitably pivoted at its lower end along an axis 36 adjacent the junction of the adjacent walls 31, 38 of the coin channels l5, It. This vane is normally biased by gravity to its position of Fig. 5 with its upper end resting against side wall 39 of the hopper, in which position the vane completely closes the entrance to channel I5, the inclined position of the vane serving to deflect all coins into the by-pass channel It leading directly to the cash compartment in the lower housing of the collector. However, vane 35 is normally held in its position of Fig. 4 where its upper edge lies against the inclined lip 40 of the hopper mouth just above the entrance to the bypass channel |6 whereby the entrance to channel I6 is completely closed to deposited coins. Vane 35 has an upwardly extending slot 4| of sufficient width to freely receive the end 42 of coin trigger H. The arrangement is such that with the coin trigger in its normal position the trigger end 42 positively engages the upper edge of slot 4| to hold vane 35 against the hopper wall 49. This normal position is shown in Fig. 4 where trigger I1 is shown projecting through a vertical aperture 43 in hopper side wall 39, across the coin passage and into the slot 4| in the vane 7 with the end of the trigger engaging the upper edge of slot 4|.

In the absence of a deposited coin .the normal position of coin trigger l1 and vane 35 is, therefore, that of Fig. 4. The first deposited coin upon entering the hopper will strike trigger H to deflect it downwardly substantially to its position of Fig. 5. This removes the trigger shoulder 30 from beneath lever extension 29 and lever arm 3|, acting under the pressure of spring contact 2|, moves to the right as shown in Fig, 6 whereby lever extension 29 drops behind trigger shoulder 3|] to temporarily hold the trigger I! in its actuated position whereby the other lever arm 3| is permitted to move to the right to close spring contacts 2|, 2| and open contacts l9, l9.

With trigger I! in its actuated position of Fig. 5 the vane 35 is obviously freed from the trigger end 42 and hence the vane falls, due to gravity, to the position of Fig. 5, in which position the vane 35 will remain until the coin trigger I! is restored to normal position. With vane 35 in its position of Fig. 5 any coins now deposited will be prevented from entering the initial channel |5 but will be deflected by vane 35 into the by-pass channel |6 leading directly into the cash compartment.

As soon as collect current or refund current is applied to relay 22, lever extension 29, as previously described, is elevated above shoulder 30 thereby permitting counterweight 34 to restore trigger I! to normal position as soon as the relay armature 23 has assumed its neutral position.

It will be apparent from Figs. 3 and 4 that by-pass channel l6 leads directly to the collect chute opening 44 in the base of the coin hopper but below coin trap l8 so that any coin deflected by vane 35 into channel IE will not strike coin trigger nor will such a coin be held in suspense on coin trap |8 but will pass directly through opening 44 into the cash box located in the lower portion of the housing of Fig. 1.

One advantage of the coin hopper construction above described is that there is no danger that the coin load on the coin trap will be sufficiently great to prevent the coin relay from operating coin vane 25 to dispose of the coins held in suspense. For a local call involving only one coin it will be apparent that by-pass channel l6 performs no function since the-single coin for each local call will pass into channel l5 and will be held suspended on coin trap l8 for subsequent collection or refund; and the energization of coin relay 22 will restore coin trigger l1 and vane 35 to their normal positions of Fig. 4 ready to permit the coin for the next local call to be directed in the same manner into the initial coin channel l5.

However, for a toll call involving the deposit of more than one coin the operation is as follows. The central office operator upon acertaining that a toll call is desired will refund the initial coin resting on trap l8 and will then request deposit of the toll charges, say twenty-five cents. The refunding of the initial coin as previously described serves to restore trigger H and vane 35 to their normal positions of Fig. 4. If the patron now deposits five nickels in payment of the toll charges, the first nickel will therefore enter chute l5 and be held in suspense on trap |8 after such coin has actuated trigger IT to permit vane 35 to occupy its lower position of Fig. 5. The remaining four nickels deposited in payment of the toll charges will thereforebe directed into by-pass channel l6 through which they drop directly into the cash box. The first nickel or the toll payment will be collected at the proper time by applying collect current to relay 22; and relay 22 in operating will restore vane 35 to its normal position of Fig. 4 as previously described.

It will therefore be apparent that the coin hopper of this invention provides an arrangement whereby the coin trap load is limited to one coin and any additional coins deposited for a given call are by-passed around the coin trap and collected immediately upon deposit.

What is claimed is:

1. In a coin collector, a coin hopper having a coin entrance passage, a first coin channel and a second coin channel leading from said passage, said channels having their coin entrances offset with respect to each other, each channel being downwardly extended, a coin vane pivoted adjacent the entrances to said channels and biased to a first position for closing the entrance to said first channel and for directing a deposited coin into said second channel, said vane in a second position closing the entrance to said second channel and directing a deposited coin into said first channel, means for normally holding said vane in said second position, said means com-,

aligned with said passage, whereby a coin drops substantially vertically in traversing said passage and said first channel, said hopper having vane in a position which permits a first deposited coin to enter said first channel and which prevents said first deposited coin from entering said second channel.

3. In a coin collector, a coin hopper having a coin passage for receiving deposited coins, a pair of coin channels leading from said passage, one side wall of said passage having an aperture, a coin deflecting vane within said hopper and pivoted adjacent the side wall of said hopper opposite said aperture, said vane in one position directing a deposited coin into one of said channels, said vane in a second position directing a deposited coin into the second of said channels, saidvane being biased to said second position and having an elongated slot, means for normally holding said vane in said first position, said means comprising a coin trigger pivoted externally of said hopper and having an arm projecting through said aperture across said passage and into said slot whereby said trigger normally prevents said vane from advancing to said second position, and means effective after said trigger has been struck by said deposited coin for holding said trigger in its actuated position.

OSCAR A. SHANN. 

